We were working from very exact models and dimensions and weights of clay to make these pots which had been designed some… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We asked a lot of questions and we watched everyone who was working in the studio. And we had an opportunity to… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
It was there that we really first came in contact with the work of Shoji Hamada, who was Bernard's best friend from… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Every day we'd trudge up the hill - it was a three-quarter-mile walk up this steep hill to the Leach Pottery, and… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
If [Bernard Leach] didn't like the drawing, he'd X it out and do another one and change the form a little bit.… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Alix [MacKenzie], on the other hand, found that her painting would translate much more readily into decoration, and she could play with… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
I do remember that when we left [Bernard Leach] after two and a half years, we went home on a boat again… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We thought [with Alix MacKenzie], if those are the kinds of pots from every culture that interest us, why would we think… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Bernard [Leach] had acquired many [Shoji] Hamada works. Some of them, it was interesting - first of all, Hamada worked in St.… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
In the Leach Pottery we did most of our work on the wheel. [Bernard] Leach did a little work in the studio,… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Looking back on it now, I understand why that was not possible [to express ourselves], because the pottery employed a dozen people,… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
When we worked at the pottery, we did learn to make pots, that is, the physical act of making the pot. We… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
[In the Field Museum of Natural History] we could see very simple, primitive, hand-built pottery from Babylonia and ancient Egypt and so… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We did respect [Bernard Leach], although we also were willing to challenge ideas and at least put forth our feelings about the… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We [me and my wife] went back to St. Paul, worked for a year - again, I guess I would have to… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We got a great benefit from our contact with those people [Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, Richard Batram] and met people that we… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Living with [Bernard] Leach, who thought about pottery 24 hours a day, was a fantastic experience, and we really began to get… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
The interesting thing was we never talked about pottery. Bernard [Leach] talked about social issues; he talked about the world political situation,… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
And as far as I know about Alix's [MacKenzie] work, I don't believe she ever did any sculptural work at all. It… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We moved up here [to St.Paul with my wife] and started to teach, we very quickly found out we were not equipped… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
In searching for further training we turned to England and Bernard Leach. We thought since we had responded to his book so… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
I thought I was going to be able to use my painting ideas as decoration on pottery, but my painting did not… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
I think back to some of the pots we made when we first started our pottery, and they were pretty awful pots.… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Friends of Bernard's [Leach] came to visit, and when we went to London, we were given introductions to people like Lucie Rie,… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
[Kathleen Blackshear] just said, "Have you thought of looking at this?" and so on and so on and so on. And it was a… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Some years ago I was working on some forms which were vase forms with a fairly narrow base, and it was after [Hans] Coper… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
I found out later on that was not true, that life drawing tells you a great deal about rhythm, about the structure of a… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Remember, this is back in the '40s, and the idea of a museum being a place where interested people could come in direct contact… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
At the end of that two weeks Bernard [Leach] asked us if we would like to sit with him tending the kiln, the big… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
I got drafted into the army and by pure chance was pushed into a silk-screen shop at this camp where I was, because they… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
[In the Field Museum of Natural History] we could see very simple, primitive, hand-built pottery from Babylonia and ancient Egypt and so forth, Greece.… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
Chicago is a wonderful area because it's blessed with a tremendous number of museums of various sorts, not only the Art Institute of Chicago… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
It was a wonderful opportunity. And so for two and a half years we lived with [Bernard] Leach. — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
We thought [with Alix MacKenzie], if those are the kinds of pots from every culture that interest us, why would we think that it… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
I went to the Chicago Art Institute, which was the best painting school in the area at that time. And I took painting classes… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
It was there that we really first came in contact with the work of Shoji Hamada, who was Bernard's best friend from Japan, who… — Warren MacKenzie Copy Share Image
![“We were working from very exact models and dimensions and weights of clay to make these pots which had been designed some 10 or 12 years previous to our arriving [at Bernard's Leach studio]. And we, being, I guess you would say young, arrogant Americans, thought that we ought to be able to somehow…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3ce/warren-mackenzie-4654_able_we-were-working-from-very-exact-models-a_2464088.jpg)
![“It was there that we really first came in contact with the work of Shoji Hamada, who was Bernard's best friend from Japan, who had come from Japan back to England with [Bernard] Leach when Leach was establishing his pottery.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7e4/warren-mackenzie-4654_best-friend_it-was-there-that-we-really-first-came-i_295653.jpg)
![“If [Bernard Leach] didn't like the drawing, he'd X it out and do another one and change the form a little bit. And when he was all done, he would stuff these pieces of paper in his pocket and go off to the pottery, and when he wanted to make pots, he would then take these out and he'd begin to…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/34d/warren-mackenzie-4654_bits_if-bernard-leach-didn-t-like-the-drawing_1007603.jpg)
![“Alix [MacKenzie], on the other hand, found that her painting would translate much more readily into decoration, and she could play with the spacing and the intensity of imagery on the form in a way which I could not. So that when we established our pottery, I was most unhappy with my decoration.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/150/warren-mackenzie-4654_decoration_alix-mackenzie-on-the-other-hand-found-t_1028664.jpg)
![“I do remember that when we left [Bernard Leach] after two and a half years, we went home on a boat again - this was before air travel became really easy - and Alix [MacKenzie] turned to me and she said, "You know, that was a great two years of training, but that's not the way we're going to run…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/566/warren-mackenzie-4654_air_i-do-remember-that-when-we-left-bernard_1214561.jpg)
![“We thought [with Alix MacKenzie], if those are the kinds of pots from every culture that interest us, why would we think that it should be any different in mid-North America 20th century? And we decided then that our work would center around that sort of utilitarian pottery, and that's what I've…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/db7/warren-mackenzie-4654_20th-century_we-thought-with-alix-mackenzie-if-those_265640.jpg)
![“Bernard [Leach] had acquired many [Shoji] Hamada works. Some of them, it was interesting - first of all, Hamada worked in St. Ives for about four years before returning to Japan to start his own pottery. He had exhibitions in London, and if these exhibitions didn't sell out, the galleries were…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6c0/warren-mackenzie-4654_exhibitions_bernard-leach-had-acquired-many-shoji-ha_2454863.jpg)
![“In the Leach Pottery we did most of our work on the wheel. [Bernard] Leach did a little work in the studio, which was press-molded forms, plastic clay pressed into plaster forms to make small rectangular boxes and some vase forms, which he liked to make. These were molds which had been made to an…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3a8/warren-mackenzie-4654_boxes_in-the-leach-pottery-we-did-most-of-our_447338.jpg)
![“Looking back on it now, I understand why that was not possible [to express ourselves], because the pottery employed a dozen people, not all of whom are making pots. And these people had families, children, and they had to have a wage that would allow them to raise their family and they had to get…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7c6/warren-mackenzie-4654_afternoon_looking-back-on-it-now-i-understand-why_1308684.jpg)
![“[In the Field Museum of Natural History] we could see very simple, primitive, hand-built pottery from Babylonia and ancient Egypt and so forth, Greece. We could see the most sophisticated things that came out of the Orient - Japan, Korea, and China - some few pieces of European porcelain, majolica…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8fc/warren-mackenzie-4654_ancient_in-the-field-museum-of-natural-history-w_183538.jpg)
![“We did respect [Bernard Leach], although we also were willing to challenge ideas and at least put forth our feelings about the way the pottery was run, about things that were done, about the pots we were making, etc. And we would get into sometimes some very fierce arguments. We'd be shouting at…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/33b/warren-mackenzie-4654_argument_we-did-respect-bernard-leach-although-we_1230748.jpg)
![“We [me and my wife] went back to St. Paul, worked for a year - again, I guess I would have to admit now, doing a rather shaky job of teaching people - but at the end of that year we returned to England and worked in the [Bernard] Leach Pottery for two and a half years.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/50b/warren-mackenzie-4654_ends_we-me-and-my-wife-went-back-to-st-paul-w_1318886.jpg)
![“We got a great benefit from our contact with those people [Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, Richard Batram] and met people that we wouldn't have probably met if we had simply worked at the pottery.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/997/warren-mackenzie-4654_benefits_we-got-a-great-benefit-from-our-contact_1723967.jpg)
![“Living with [Bernard] Leach, who thought about pottery 24 hours a day, was a fantastic experience, and we really began to get inside his mind and understand what had motivated him to work all his life as a potter.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b51/warren-mackenzie-4654_fantastic_living-with-bernard-leach-who-thought-ab_1548049.jpg)
![“The interesting thing was we never talked about pottery. Bernard [Leach] talked about social issues; he talked about the world political situation, he talked about the economy, he talked about all kinds of things.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/028/warren-mackenzie-4654_all-kinds_the-interesting-thing-was-we-never-talke_3120313.jpg)
![“And as far as I know about Alix's [MacKenzie] work, I don't believe she ever did any sculptural work at all. It was always pottery.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8bb/warren-mackenzie-4654_believe_and-as-far-as-i-know-about-alix-s-macken_3215982.jpg)
![“We moved up here [to St.Paul with my wife] and started to teach, we very quickly found out we were not equipped either to teach or to run our own pottery, and so we decided that we had to have further training.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/360/warren-mackenzie-4654_decided_we-moved-up-here-to-st-paul-with-my-wife_3235179.jpg)
![“Friends of Bernard's [Leach] came to visit, and when we went to London, we were given introductions to people like Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, Richard Batram. All these people were, let's say, made available to us by a friendship with Leach. In addition there was a potter's group - what was it called?…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dd3/warren-mackenzie-4654_available_friends-of-bernard-s-leach-came-to-visit_2626681.jpg)
![“[Kathleen Blackshear] just said, "Have you thought of looking at this?" and so on and so on and so on. And it was a discussion group where everyone had a say, and it was a tremendous learning experience.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/49b/warren-mackenzie-4654_discussion_kathleen-blackshear-just-said-have-you-t_18002.jpg)
![“Some years ago I was working on some forms which were vase forms with a fairly narrow base, and it was after [Hans] Coper had died that I saw an exhibition of his, a catalogue from an exhibition, and he was showing some forms which were made by cutting and joining a lot of different parts together…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/16b/warren-mackenzie-4654_bits_some-years-ago-i-was-working-on-some-for_61245.jpg)
![“Remember, this is back in the '40s, and the idea of a museum being a place where interested people could come in direct contact with works hadn't arrived on the scene yet. That, I think, I first ran into at the Freer Gallery in Washington, D.C., where a man named Marty [Martin] Amt decided that he…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ddb/warren-mackenzie-4654_assistants_remember-this-is-back-in-the-40s-and-the_105550.jpg)
![“At the end of that two weeks Bernard [Leach] asked us if we would like to sit with him tending the kiln, the big oil-fired kiln that they had. He was still sitting what we call a kiln watch at that time, and he wondered if we would like to sit the watch with him and talk. So naturally this was our…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6dd/warren-mackenzie-4654_big-oil_at-the-end-of-that-two-weeks-bernard-lea_146880.jpg)
![“It was a wonderful opportunity. And so for two and a half years we lived with [Bernard] Leach.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cf3/warren-mackenzie-4654_half_it-was-a-wonderful-opportunity-and-so-fo_230701.jpg)
